Test blog post hints at pending launch of ‘Pandora Plus’ on-demand streaming service

Pandora appears to have accidentally confirmed  — with a test blog post — reports that it is about to unveil its new on-demand music streaming service as soon as today.

The Oakland-based online radio streaming service confirmed this week that it had signed the pacts with record labels needed to launch a new service to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music.

“This was a truly collaborative attempt to find a solution that would support artists while profitably growing our respective businesses,” said Tim Westergren, founder and CEO of Pandora, in a statement. “And that is exactly what we achieved. Working together, we can reshape the digital music market and grow a great business that provides tremendous value to the music industry for decades to come.”

Recode reported that the service could launch today and is expected to offer tiers for $10 and $5 per month. The post indicates that the company is indeed moving quickly.

The new post does not appear on the main page of Pandora’s blog. However, it did appear in RSS feeds, as the company was apparently testing the post last night.

The full contents remain password protected. But the top of the post reads: “Introducing Pandora Plus,” with a URL that says “more-control-over-your-Pandora.”

The service will be the start of a new era for the online music pioneer. It will still face big challenges in trying to match Spotify and Apple Music. However, Pandora boasts of 78 million listeners to its ad-supported and subscription services, and if it can convert some of those, it could build momentum.

On the other hand, Pandora is still only available in a handful of countries, including the U.S. The new deals do not appear to give it the ability to expand into new territories.